Bo: Leaders Lead

My wife has a relationship with a certain rebbetzin in Yerushaliyim. Just recently, her grandmother passed away at the age of 100+. She left SIX generations of descendants, and was given the physical and mental health to have a relationship with so many of them until the end.

It was decided, when it was clear that her time was drawing near, to allow up to the fourth generation to be present in the hospital. Over 150 people came, all of them frum, many of them roshei yeshivah, roshei kollel, kollel members, teachers, etc. One baby from the sixth generation was allowed in, so the father could tell her when she grew up, she was there when her great-great-great-(great?)-grandmother passed away. For the funeral, this rebbetzin’s children wanted to go to the funeral, and sought permission from their Rosh Yeshiva. He ended up calling this rebbetzin and said that normally, nobody is interested in going to the funeral of a great-grandparent, but now a third of the yeshiva has asked permission to go, since they are all great- or great-great-grandchildren of this woman, and felt that they had a connection to her.

What a bracha!

“And the Children of Israel went and did as the Almighty commanded Moshe and Aharon, so they did” (Shemos 12:28).

The Chagigai Osher writes that “so they did” refers to Moshe and Aharon (quoting Rashi) preparing the Pesach Offering. The Torah, he says, teachers us that this is a lesson to anyone who wants to have a positive influence of others. It’s not enough just to tell them to do something, but rather one must actually behave accordingly.

One of my wife’s friends was approached by a certain woman in the neighborhood. She mentioned that so-and-so just had a baby, and she thought that perhaps my wife’s friend could make a Shabbos meal for her. She responded "yes," and asked what meal this woman herself was going to make for the mother, so she doesn’t make the same meal. The "organizer" responded, “Oh, I don’t like making meals; I just like organizing” (read: telling people what to do). In the end, the new mother received only one meal, and my wife’s friend was left with a bad taste in her mouth.